May 24, 2006

Hi:

We just wanted to let everyone know as well as mark this moment in time so Margaret can remember it that she was diagnosed today with hip dysplasia in her right hip. Our pediatrician thought he felt a clicking at their last wellness check-up and we brought both girls in to have ultrasounds and xrays done. The orthopedic doc confirmed that she has hip dysplasia and he prescribed a "plavnik harness" that she has to wear 24/7 :( She is not coping so well with it now but they say she will get used to it and she will never remember this unless she reads this blog or we tell her - I guess that is the good part about all of this. She will have to wear it for one week, get checked and continue to wear it with weekly check-ups. Hopefully, the brace will shorten up the groin muscle enought to move the ball back fully into the socket. If not, they do a small surgical procedure and put her in a cast and finally, they would have to do hip surgery to get the ball back in the socket if all else fails.

Kathryn's hips look good though and according to the doctor 1 out of 4 hips is good odds for babies born prematurely.

Thank you all for you kindness, support and generousity.

Erin and Dave